George Washington University Athletics
GW Men's Tennis Earns Nine Postseason Honors
5/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
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May 4, 2015
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Senior Francisco Dias earned his third career Atlantic 10 Men's Tennis Most Outstanding Performer nod and five other Colonials took home all-conference awards, the league announced on Monday. Dias, junior Danil Zelenkov and freshman Chris Fletcher were named All-Conference First Team selections, junior Cahit Kapukiran, sophomore Julius Tverijonas and freshman Christos Hadjigeorgiou nabbed Second Team spots, and Zelenkov and Tverijonas also picked up All-Academic Team honors.
For the second straight season, each member of GW's lineup received postseason awards from the conference. The nine year-end awards are the most for any team in the A-10.
The Buff and Blue won the 2015 A-10 Championship as the fourth seed, upsetting top-seeded Richmond in the semifinals and second-seeded VCU in the title match to take home the conference crown for the second consecutive season and the fourth time in the last five years. GW earned the A-10's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship and will take on No. 12 Wake Forest on Friday as the Demon Deacons host the first and second rounds.
"I am proud of my guys who struggled this year but persevered and finished with a seven-match win streak," said Head Coach Greg Munoz. "It was an exciting Atlantic 10 Championship, and it is nice to see the level starting to rise in the A-10. We will do our best to represent the conference at the NCAA Championship."
Dias' Most Outstanding Performer of the Year nod is the third of his career - becoming the only student-athlete in program history to claim the honor three times - and he has landed First Team selections in each of his four seasons as a Colonial. The Lisbon, Portugal, native passed the 20-win mark in singles play for the second time in his career, amassing a 21-14 overall record, while finishing second on the squad with a 17-11 doubles tally. The business administration major became GW's all-time career singles wins leader on April 19 with his 85th triumph, snapping a record that had stood since 1979. Dias' record-breaking performance helped earn him A-10 Performer of the Week and ECAC Division I South Player of the Week nods to close out the regular season.
"There has always been a lot of pressure on Francisco since his freshmen year," said Munoz. "We knew a lot depended on him going into the A-10 Tournament, and he came through. Cahit and Danil have always been reliable points for us, and the highlight came when we found three doubles teams that really clicked for us and helped us win more doubles points."
Zelenkov receives All-Conference First Team honors for the third time in his career, entering the NCAA Championship with an overall 17-16 singles mark and a team-best 19-8 doubles record. From Skopje, Macedonia, Zelenkov posted a perfect 4-0 week to earn A-10 Performer of the Week for the week ending Feb. 3. The international affairs student earns his second All-Academic Team nod and holds a 3.92 grade-point average, earning GW's Elliot School of International Affairs' Outstanding Academic Achievement award for the second time for the 2014-15 academic year. Zelenkov has also been a member of the GW Athletics Department Dean's List and A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll for every semester of his career.
GW's top newcomer, Fletcher grabs a First Team selection after a solid rookie season, playing mostly at the No. 3 position of the ladder. Overall, the Ontario, Canada, native led the team's freshmen with a 13-17 singles mark and a 10-15 doubles tally. Fletcher has most recently partnered with Dias for a 4-1 conference mark at the No. 1 slot. The duo upset the nation's No. 66-ranked pair from St. John's in dominant 8-2 fashion on April 5.
Tverijonas, who missed the first portion of the spring season due to illness, takes home All-Confernce Second Team honors after winning his last five singles matches and enters the NCAA Tournament with an overall 9-7 record, including a 5-1 mark at the No. 5 position. In doubles play, the Siauliai, Lithuania, native boasts a 13-9 tally, playing most of his matches at the No. 2 position. Tverijonas earned A-10 Performer of the Week for the week ending April 7, as he amassed a perfect 4-0 record in two matches, including key victories in an upset of No. 61 UNC-Wilmington. The pre-business administration student earns his first All-Academic nod with a 3.90 GPA while earning a spot on the GW Athletics Department Dean's List and the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll in his first two semesters as a Colonial.
An All-Conference Second Team selection, first-year transfer Kapukiran will take a 10-match win streak in singles play into the NCAA Tournament. The junior posted an overall 15-15 solo record and holds a perfect 9-0 mark at the No. 6 position. All but one of Kapukiran's 10 doubles triumphs have come at the No. 3 slot.
Hadjigeorgiou finished his rookie campaign with an 11-2 singles tally and a 9-11 doubles record to land him Second Team honors. Splitting most of his solo bouts between the Nos. 4 and 6 spots, the native of Nicosia, Cyprus, has won four of his last five completed matches. The exercise science student went 3-0 to close the regular season and grab the final A-10 Rookie of the Week nod for the 2015 season while also earning ECAC Division I South Rookie of the Week.
GW earned its fourth-ever bid to the NCAA Team Championship and will take on No. 12 Wake Forest on Friday at 3 p.m. in the first round.
Players Mentioned
